Michael Jackson is an interactive performance-based video game inspired by the legendary King of Pop.
Release Date: Apr 12, 2011To coincide the Michael Jackson: The Experience's launch on PS3 Move and Xbox 360 Kinect today, Ubisoft has passed along a trio of trailers that highlight how the Kinect controls work. The videos are for the songs Black or White, Don't Stop and Ghosts.
As you might guess from the Kinect gameplay footage, the game uses the same proprietary on-screen player projection system that Ubisoft's Your Shape: Fitness Evolved does. The Kinect camera captures the player or players from head-to-toe and projects their image into the game. It's not a crystal clear high definition projection but does get the job done.
Also of note in the new Kinect and Move versions of Michael Jackson: The Experience are a trio of songs not found in the previously released versions: Blood on the Dance Floor, I Just Can't Stop Loving You, and Stranger in Moscow.
'Michael Jackson: The Experience' has already sold three million copies worldwide since it was released in November on the Nintendo Wii, DS and Sony PlayStation Portable (PS3). On Tuesday, Ubisoft releases versions of the game compatible with Microsoft's Kinect hands-free control system and Sony's PlayStation Move motion controller, USA Today reports.
Ubisoft's Michael Beadle states, “As a company, Ubisoft looked at what each of the three platforms would be able to do from a tech standpoint. We obviously wanted to highlight each with something cool and exclusive while using the hardware the best way it could be used, working closely with the (Michael Jackson) estate.”
Taking advantage of the camera, voice and gesture tracking abilities of the Kinect, 'Michael Jackson: The Experience', tracks how well players are imitating the late King of Pop's dance moves.
Featuring Ubisoft technology, the projects players into on-screen scenes inspired by Jackson's live performances and music videos including iconic scenes from “Thriller”, AFP is reporting. Kinect users are represented as animated characters that mirror their likeness and movements.
Ubisoft senior vice president of sales and marketing Tony Key tells AFP, “You actually see yourself moving and your goal is to follow along with the backup dancers. You can see your hair flitting, what you are wearing -- all of that.”
Playstation's 'Move' version of the game records video and photos that can be saved on the PS3's hard drive or uploaded to the users Facebook account. “The accuracy of the Move with the camera makes it very precise and the HD graphics and high quality sound in both of these platforms is really high-end,” Beadle explains.
Ubisoft has long been perfecting motion controls for videogames and the potential for 3D cameras to enhance the universe that games allow you to enjoy. Ubisoft finished 2010 as the top third-party developer for Kinect.
Microsoft reports having sold more than 10 million Kinects, which lets people play with no hand-held controllers at all and recognizes faces and responds to voice commands. Ubisoft claims about 19 percent of the market of videogames for the Xbox 360 accessory that debuted in November.
Ubisoft title's represent about 80 percent of that type of play on Wii consoles. “The dance category for us has been a huge win,” Key said. “We created a reason for people to dance in their living rooms,” he continued. “This always turns out to be a great time for anybody who is in the house -- we really touched a nerve.”
Ubisoft's Facebook page features an abundance of dance game stories and videos posted by players. “More and more, the dance category is becoming a story that consumers are telling for us,” Key said. “How many videogames have people posting videos of themselves playing?”
'Michael Jackson: The Experience' will be priced at $49.99 when it becomes available in the United States on Tuesday with a European release expected two days later.
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